Systems And Methods For Displaying Current Prices, Including Hotel Room Rental Rates, With Markers Simultaneously On A Map

Abstract

There is disclosed systems and methods for displaying current prices of goods or services provided at a plurality of locations within a geographical area. In an embodiment, a system includes a computer terminal, a map server, an information source, a set of map markers, and a web server. In another embodiment, a method includes specifying the geographical area by an input of data, providing a map of the geographical area to a computer terminal, sending a query to an information source, matching map markers indicating specific prices to the current prices for selected ones goods or services, and relaying the map markers to the computer terminal, and overlaying the map markers onto the map so as to display current prices simultaneously for each of the plurality of locations. Other embodiments are also disclosed.

1 . A system for displaying current prices of selected ones of goods and services provided at a plurality of locations within a geographical area, the system comprising:
 a computer terminal for specifying the geographical area containing the plurality of locations, and for displaying a map with the current prices of the selected ones of goods and services provided at the plurality of locations;   a map server for providing a map image including the geographical area containing the plurality of locations specified with the terminal;   an information source for providing data including the current prices of selected ones of goods and services provided at the plurality of locations specified with the computer terminal;   a set of map markers for selected display on the map image provided by the map server, each one of the map markers having at least one alphanumeric character to represent a specific price; and   a web server for relaying the map markers to the computer terminal, and overlaying the map markers onto the map at proper ones of the particular locations so as to display each of the current prices simultaneously on the map for each of the plurality of locations.   
     
     
         2 . A system in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the selected ones of goods and services are gasoline prices, and wherein the plurality of locations are gasoline stations. 
     
     
         3 . A system in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the selected ones of goods and services are movie ticket prices, and wherein the plurality of locations are movie theaters. 
     
     
         4 . A system in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the selected ones of goods and services are hotel room rates, and wherein the plurality of locations are hotels. 
     
     
         5 . A system in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the current prices are for a future date. 
     
     
         6 . A system in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the current prices are for a present date. 
     
     
         7 . A system in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the simultaneous display of each of the current prices on the map for each of the plurality of locations is shown without any user interaction with the map markers. 
     
     
         8 . A system in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the current prices displayed on the map are shown in a currency including at least one chosen from the group consisting of U.S. dollars, euros, and Canadian dollars. 
     
     
         9 . A system in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the web server allows at least one additional user input at the terminal when more than one hotel exists in the geographical area, the at least one additional user input allowing display of room rental rates for at least one selected from the group consisting of at least one particular brand-name hotel, at least one available room type, at least one star level, and at least one specified hotel amenity. 
     
     
         10 . A system in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the web server allows a query to the information source to retrieve the location and pricing information for each of the hotels within the geographical area obtains at least one selected from the group consisting of property name, street address, geocode data, current room rental prices, corresponding dates that the rental prices are in effect, a unique identifier, hotel amenities, a hotel logo, and photographs. 
     
     
         11 . A system in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the map markers include pre-generated map markers. 
     
     
         12 . A system in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the map markers include dynamically generated map markers at the time of a request for a certain map marker. 
     
     
         13 . A system for displaying current prices of selected ones of goods and services provided at a plurality of locations within a geographical area, the system comprising:
 a computer terminal for specifying the geographical area containing the plurality of locations, and for displaying a map with the current prices of the selected ones of goods and services provided at the plurality of locations;   a map server for providing a map image including the geographical area containing the plurality of locations specified with the terminal;   an information source for providing data including the current prices of selected ones of goods and services provided at the plurality of locations specified with the computer terminal;   a set of map markers for selected display on the map image provided by the map server, each one of the map markers having at least one alphanumeric character to represent a specific price; and   a web server for relaying the map markers to the map server, embedding the map markers onto the map at proper ones of the particular locations so as to display each of the current prices simultaneously on the map for each of the plurality of locations, and relaying the map to the user terminal.   
     
     
         14 . A system for displaying current prices of selected ones of goods and services provided at a plurality of locations within a geographical area, the system comprising:
 a computer terminal for specifying the geographical area containing the plurality of locations, and for displaying a map with the current prices of the selected ones of goods and services provided at the plurality of locations;   a map server for providing a map image including the geographical area containing the plurality of locations specified with the terminal;   an information source for providing data including the current prices of selected ones of goods and services provided at the plurality of locations specified with the computer terminal;   a set of map markers for selected display on the map image provided by the map server, each one of the map markers having at least one alphanumeric character to represent a specific price; and   a web server for relaying the map markers to the web server, overlaying the map markers onto the map at proper ones of the particular locations so as to display each of the current prices simultaneously on the map for each of the plurality of locations, and relaying the map to a computer terminal.   
     
     
         15 . A method of displaying current prices of selected ones of goods and services provided at a plurality of locations within a geographic area, the method comprising:
 specifying the geographical area by an input of data;   providing a map of the geographical area to a computer terminal based on the input of data;   sending a query to an information source to retrieve location and pricing information for a plurality of the selected ones of goods and services within the geographical area;   matching map markers indicating specific prices to the current prices for each of the selected ones of goods and services using the location and pricing information so as to indicate the current prices at particular locations on the map; and   relaying the map markers to the computer terminal, and overlaying the map markers onto the map at proper ones of the particular locations so as to display each of the current prices simultaneously on the map for each of the plurality of locations.   
     
     
         16 . A method in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the step of identifying the geographical area of interest by the input of data includes at least one selected from the group consisting of providing a name of a city, providing a name of a state, providing a zip code, using a computer pointing device to click directly on a specific map area, using a mouse pointer to select a link to specific map location, moving the map using directional arrows, moving the map using a mouse dragging technique, and identification of the geographical area using Global Positioning System (GPS) information. 
     
     
         17 . A method in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the selected ones of goods and services are gasoline prices, and wherein the plurality of locations are gasoline stations. 
     
     
         18 . A method in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the selected ones of goods and services are movie ticket prices, and wherein the plurality of locations are movie theaters. 
     
     
         19 . A method in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the selected ones of goods and services are hotel room rates, and wherein the plurality of locations are hotels. 
     
     
         20 . A method in accordance with  claim 19 , wherein the step of specifying the geographical area by the input of data further includes at least one additional user input at the terminal when more than one hotel exists in the geographical area, the at least one additional user input allowing display of room rental rates for at least one selected from the group consisting of at least one particular brand-name hotel, at least one available room type, at least one star level, and at least one specified hotel amenity. 
     
     
         21 . A method in accordance with  claim 19 , wherein the step of specifying the geographical area of interest by the input of data includes at least one selected from the group consisting of dates of stay, number of rooms needed, and type of rooms needed. 
     
     
         22 . A method in accordance with  claim 19 , wherein the step of providing the map of the geographical area to the computer terminal based on the input of data includes providing maps with at least one selected from the group consisting of streets, city names, and geographic identifiers. 
     
     
         23 . A method in accordance with  claim 19 , wherein the step of sending the query to the information source to retrieve the location and pricing information for each of the hotels within the geographical area obtains at least one selected from the group consisting of property name, street address, geocode data, current room rental prices, corresponding dates that the rental prices are in effect, a unique identifier, hotel amenities, a hotel logo, and photographs. 
     
     
         24 . A method in accordance with  claim 19 , wherein the step of matching the map markers and the current prices includes displaying one of the map markers with a lowest room rental rate on the map when a hotel has multiple rooms of different rates available for rent. 
     
     
         25 . A method in accordance with  claim 19 , wherein the step of matching the map markers and the current prices includes displaying one of the map markers with a lowest room rental rate on the map when the user has input multiple dates for a hotel stay 
     
     
         26 . A method in accordance with  claim 19 , wherein the step of matching the map markers and the current prices includes displaying one of the map markets with an average of the available prices at a certain hotel location when the user has input multiple dates for a hotel stay 
     
     
         27 . A method in accordance with  claim 19 , wherein the step of matching the map markers and the current prices includes displaying one of the map markers with a price as a sum total of the price when the user has input multiple dates for a hotel stay 
     
     
         28 . A method in accordance with  claim 19 , wherein the step of relaying the map markers to the user terminal, overlaying the map markers onto the map in the proper geographic locations so as to display each of the current prices simultaneously on the map for each of the plurality of locations includes receiving a user input at the terminal to select to view current prices for at least one chosen from the group consisting of the hotels with a particular brand-name, available room types, star level, and certain amenities. 
     
     
         29 . A method in accordance with  claim 15  wherein the step of providing the map of the geographical area to the computer terminal based on the input of data includes relaying to a map server the geographic boundaries of a display window in the user terminal, and receiving the map of the geographical area as determined by the map server. 
     
     
         30 . A method in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the step of providing the map of the geographical area to the computer terminal based on the input of data includes receiving from the map server the map of the geographical area as part of a larger map. 
     
     
         31 . A method in accordance with  claim 23 , wherein the step of receiving from the map server the map of the geographical area as part of the larger map includes one selected from the group consisting of a single state, a city, a metropolitan area, a country, and an identifiable geographical area. 
     
     
         32 . A method in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the step of matching the map markers and the current prices includes using pre-generated ones of the map markers. 
     
     
         33 . A method in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the step of matching the map markers and the current prices includes generating the map markers at the time of the request for a certain map marker. 
     
     
         34 . A method of displaying current prices of selected ones of goods and services provided at a plurality of locations within a geographic area, the method comprising:
 specifying the geographical area by an input of data;   providing a map of the geographical area to a web server based on the input of data;   sending a query to an information source to retrieve location and pricing information for a plurality of the selected ones of the goods and services within the geographical area;   matching map markers indicating specific prices to the current prices for each of the selected ones of goods and services using the location and pricing information so as to indicate the current prices at particular locations on the map; and   relaying the map markers to the map server, embedding the map markers onto the map at proper ones of the particular locations so as to display each of the current prices simultaneously on the map for each of the plurality of locations, and relaying the map to the user terminal.   
     
     
         35 . A method of displaying current prices of selected ones of goods and services provided at a plurality of locations within a geographic area, the method comprising:
 specifying the geographical area by an input of data;   providing a map of the geographical area to a web server based on the input of data;   sending a query to an information source to retrieve location and pricing information for a plurality of hotels within the geographical area;   matching map markers indicating specific prices to current prices for each of the selected ones of goods and services using the location and pricing information so as to indicate the current prices at particular locations on the map; and   relaying the map markers to the web server, overlaying the map markers onto the map at proper ones of the particular locations so as to display each of the current prices simultaneously on the map for each of the plurality of locations, and relaying the map to a computer terminal.